VERUM Insights...

The reason we're on this planet is to do

our work. Whatever that is, whatever our

part is, to play our part in this giant

symphony. When it goes from the thing

you love to the thing you do for work,

it's an issue. We can live in a way

where we're living in an artful way,

where we're engaged and paying

attention, making each choice count, or

we can live almost like sleepwalking

through the day in service to the

audience. They have to come last. If

we're trying to make it for them, it

won't be the best thing it can get.

It'll water it down. The process of

making something for someone else

undermines it.

Many people approach art with a hidden

agenda, the desire to be accepted. But

when approval becomes the mission, the

art loses its soul. The need for

acceptance is also present in everyday

life. What's ironic is that acceptance

comes most naturally when we stop trying

to please and simply allow ourselves to

be who we are.

People like to be accepted. People want

to be accepted. And I'm suggesting in

the book that the the best way to be

accepted is to be yourself. It's not

it's not to change yourself to what

someone else thinks. First of all, you

don't really know what someone else

thinks.

And if you're not genuine to yourself,

there's there's like nothing nothing is

there. It's just a projection or a mask.

It's not true.

And there's something about

authenticity. The only way we can um

learn anything is through the reality of

seeing what's around us and learning.

There are these different points of view

around us. If we're all thinking the

same thing, it's boring. Why would we

make anything if everyone thinks the

same thing? What makes us interesting

are the differences?

And even even the imperfections, you

know, you may hear a song about someone

who's has terrible heartbreak and you

may not be experiencing terrible

heartbreak, but hearing them honestly

talk about a human experience, even one

that we're not having, can make us cry,

can make us resonate with them, can give

us a better understanding of the world.

M absolutely

and we're not all everything, you know,

we're all only us. Each of us is

ourselves.

What makes art beautiful is the unique

perspective we have on the world as

individuals.

There is no right or wrong way to see

the world. Just like there is no right

or wrong way to create art, make

decisions, or live life. We are all

expressions of the universe. And the

most important thing we can do is

express ourselves authentically.

I don't know what other people are going

to think. I can't know what other people

are going to think. But this is how I

see it. And I want to show you how I see

it. That's my purpose here on the planet

is to show you how I see it. And then I

want to see how you see it. And where do

they line up and where are they

different? And that's how we make sense

of the world. We all have a story. We

all have something to say and we can all

learn from each other and it comes from

each of our life experiences which are

different. We each have our own family

origin story. We each have our own

places that we grew up, the things that

we saw. We could go uh and do the same

thing together and then get back and

discuss what we saw and see two

completely different things. And it's

not like one of us is right and one of

us is wrong. We're just noticing

different things. There's so many data

points to take in and we each take in

the ones that speak to us.

Everything Rick is saying boils down to

one common message. Follow your inner

guide.

Don't do things just because you think

you're going to get something for it.

That's not why we do things. Do what's

interesting to you.

Follow what's interesting. Don't worry

about the outcome.

Yeah.

We don't know. We can't predict the

outcome. We can never predict the

outcome. Follow your own inner guide. It

directs us. It might not make sight not

make sense to us. Might not make sense

to anyone else. Certainly won't make

sense to anyone else. But it might not

even make sense to us. And that's okay.

Listen to yourself. Why is it telling

you this?

So many of us silence that quiet voice

inside, the one that already knows the

way. And when we ignore it, we create

struggles that were never meant to

exist. But why do we do this to

ourselves? Rick suggests that it is

because we don't realize we are in

control of our own lives. We make

decision after decision and fear of an

outcome that may not even exist. When in

reality, the life we want is waiting on

the other side of trust.

We are in control of our own lives. We

often don't realize we're in control.

And we can make different choices. And

if the things in our life are not

bringing us joy and happiness, if our

career that we've devoted all of our

lives to isn't bringing us joy, we can

change them. If we decide our

relationship is not the right

relationship, we don't have to suffer in

that relationship. We have our own power

and we can make a change and it takes

courage. Um, but it's in everyone's best

interest for us to take care of

ourselves to be in a relationship or in

a job where you're phoning it in because

you think it's your responsibility to do

the job, there's probably someone who

would do that job with passion and bring

more to it than you are. And if you feel

depressed and you can't manage the life

you're in, you can go move to another

part of the world. You could live on a

beach. There's so many options available

to us that we don't, you know, we're

stuck in our small story of who we are

and what our lives are. And it's all a

choice and we have the power to change

it. Anything in our lives that doesn't

give us joy, we can change and we can

find the version that that suits us. And

it's not only in service to us, it's

ultimately what's best for everyone.

There's a common illusion that taking

control of our lives requires us to be

someone extraordinary. The same illusion

often surrounds the act of creating art.

I think there's a mythology that the

people who make things that we love are

special people and that we think that

they're, you know, the people on Mount

Olympus and they're these magic people

who are geniuses and then there's the

rest of us and that's not the case. It's

like we're all just people. We're all

doing our best. We all are good at some

things, not good at other things. We're

humans and sometimes we find a way to

make something beautiful, but that's it.

There are no special people really.

We're all special.

Sometimes people spend their entire

lives chasing recognition, trying to

achieve something big enough to finally

feel worthy. They think that once they

hit that peak, all their problems will

disappear. This was not the case for

Rick.

My first memory of outward success came

when the first Beasty Boys album,

Licensed to Ill, was the number one

album in the country. The call came,

"How do you feel? You have the number

one album in the country." And I

remember saying, "I've never been more

unhappy in my life." And I think we

mistakenly think some kind of outward

success is going to change something in

us. And it does not. It may make life

more comfortable, but it doesn't change

who we are. Let's say you spend 20 years

of your life working towards a goal

that's going to solve everything.

And then you finally achieve what you've

been trying to do for 20 years toiling

away. I I won't have any fun in because

I'm working for 20 years to for this end

and then you get that end and nothing

changes.

That's when you get hopeless. So it's

not uncommon to see very successful

artists who were very unhappy in life

because they're working towards this the

thing that's going to make them feel

better and it does not make them feel

better. You know, we don't know what's

going to make us happy. We're trying to

fill something that maybe can't be

filled through material or uh cultural

success. It's something else. It's some

internal thing.

Many people believe that happiness comes

from external achievements. Yet, when we

look inward, we discover that true

purpose arises from within. There's also

a widespread misconception that living

that purpose is tied to career

milestones.

However, this is not the case.

Maybe your job is your job and the job

is the thing that supports you and then

the rest of your waking hours are

devoted to your purpose, whatever that

is.

I I would say if you need to have a job

to support yourself, that's great.

That's a noble thing to do. And follow

your dreams.

But I'm I'm not saying they're one

thing. They don't have to be one thing.

And don't let following your dreams

undermine your ability to support

yourself. It could do it could actually

do the opposite. If you decide, I want

to be a comedian and I'm putting all my

eggs in the comedian basket and I'm

going to be a comedian. The pressure of

having to support support yourself will

change you as a comedian, not for the

better. You you want the stability of

being able to take care of yourself in

the world to be free to do whatever your

passion is, whatever it is.

[Music]

[Music]

Do you play instruments?

Barely.

Do you know how to work a soundboard?

No. I have no technical ability and I

know nothing about music. Knowing how it

works isn't what makes it work. You

know, isn't the magic of it isn't how it

works. The magic is the magic. Coming up

with a story with the purpose of

pleasing someone else is a skill set.

It's more of a commercial endeavor than

an artistic endeavor. And the call came,

"How do you feel? You have the number

one album in the country." And I

remember saying, "I've never been more

unhappy in my life."

So, what are you being paid for?

The confidence that I have in my taste

and my ability to express what I feel

has proven helpful for artists.

[Music]

Rick Rubin is a creative genius. He's

produced a vast variety of artists

including the Beasty Boys, the Red Hot

Chili Peppers, Eminem, Adele, and even

Johnny Cash. With a track record like

his, he is arguably one of the most

influential music producers of all time.

Although known for his music production,

his recent book, The Creative Act, has

garnered huge attention. The subtitle of

the book is A Way of Being, and I can't

think of a better way to describe Rick's

creative relationship with the universe.

Here he compares the creative process of

life to riding a wave.

The universe is pushing us in a

direction and we can ride with that

energy. And like when you're surfing, if

you really try to fight the wave, it's

probably not going to work. You know, we

try to use the power of the wave where

we're almost dancing with the wave, not

against the wave. And um that's that's

the work of creativity as well. Certain

projects come together very easily and

they happen quickly and they have a

momentum to them and others are a real

fight.

Sometimes we fight that fight and other

times

we decide is there another a path of

less resistance around this? Is there a

better way in? Let's rethink or if it's

so hard

something's up. Not supposed to be so

hard again. And it's wildly

timeconuming, takes a great deal of

focus, takes patience,

but if there are no signs that

something's

working at for a long time,

that might be a time to step back, step

away.

Rick speaks of the things we make as

reflections of our being. No one will

create the same thing as someone else.

He mentions the importance of staying

true to yourself, letting your ideas

flow through you, and being sure not to

compare yourself to others in the

process.

The things we make are a reflection of

who we are in this moment.

And that's all it is. It can go on and

mean more than that, but that's not in

our control. And it's something that

cripples artists thinking, I have to

make the greatest thing ever made to

humankind. And then they basically psych

themselves out of being able to make

something good. They give into the

pressure of thinking it's more than it

is. We all imagine such different

worlds. And it's why

if we don't make the thing we want to

make,

if someone else's antenna is more tuned

to ours and they pick up the same source

material,

the thing they make, it's not going to

be the same thing we would make. No one

can do our part.

There's a great benefit in taking a

risk, making the thing that's

interesting to you, sharing it with the

world, because if you don't do it,

nobody else will. You're the only one

who can make the art that you can make.

And it's not in competition with anyone

else. There is no competition. There's

no competition who has a better picture

in their head.

It's a reflection of you. Everything

that you make is a reflection of who you

are. And how you live in the world will

impact the things that you make. And I

wish the best of luck on the journey in

making beautiful things that we can all

enjoy.

And audiences have enjoyed Reuben's work

with an immense amount of listeners

worldwide. I'm curious how he views the

audience and what kind of influence they

might have on his work.

The audience comes last in service to

the audience. The audience wants the

best thing.

They don't get the best thing while

you're trying to service them. They get

the best thing when you're servicing

yourself. when you're true to who you

are and the more you can trust yourself

as an artist.

In my case, I've been every decision

I've made from

working in a different genre than I

started in. Every time every time I do

something different or new, I'm always

told not to do it. I'm always told it's

a terrible idea. But I know it doesn't

matter what anyone else thinks. I know

what I know and my job is to share what

I know. That's all I can do. I can't

second guessess myself. Steve Jobs said,

you know, famously, "The consumer

doesn't know what they want

until you make it."

Yeah.

Despite his success, Rick has suffered

from depression over the years. He got

to a point in his 30s when it seemed

like all hope was lost. Although what

appeared to be a closed door led to an

awakening experience in Malibu.

I've suffered with depression at

different times in my life. The mystical

piece was in the throws of the

depression. One of the things that would

help me, I would drive to Malibu and we

had a little house, a tiny little shack

on the beach and that I was renting and

I would sit in that house and usually I

would get some some of the heaviness

would lift.

So one day I went to Malibu, nothing. I

listened to classical music, relaxed,

meditate, meditated for hours, did all

the things that would like help get me

out. And nothing got me out. And I was

devastated. And in that moment of

hopelessness, I prayed, "Universe,

please give me a sign. Please give me a

sign to go on

because I don't think I can go on.

please give me a sign.

And I walked out to the beach, which was

something I never did or rarely did. I

walked out to the beach and I'm standing

out on the beach and in

one minute

the entire sky turned into the most

dramatic

orange

wild biblical painting.

I have never seen anything like it up

until that moment. Never seen anything

like it since. I walk out. I experience

that

it blows my mind.

I feel like my answer is I I'm I'm I'm

being spoken to.

Uh-huh.

And then within a minute gone back to

normal blue sky. I felt less alone. I

felt like I could um my cry for help was

heard and I felt connected

and that felt really good.

Taking from his mystical experience,

Rick mentions that the answers to our

problems don't all come from inside of

us if we remain conscious, we can find

solutions by simply being open to the

influence of the outside world.

It's helpful to know the information we

need doesn't all come from inside of us.

Maybe none of it comes from inside of

us. Maybe it all comes from outside of

us. And whether that be mystical,

physical, or practical, I've had

experiences where I'm looking for an

answer for something, curious, holding

it lightly in my consciousness, not

working on it, just I know there's this

problem to be solved, and then I'll be

out and will happen in the world

directly related to answer the question.

Doesn't happen

once in a while. It happens all the

time. If you're open to the

communication,

we're getting information all the time.

There's so much more information coming

at us than we can digest that we pick

and choose unconsciously

certain data points and then based on

those data points we make up story about

what happens.

It's different for everybody.

There's so much uh wisdom

all around us all of the time coming in

the form of nature, the culture, people

speaking at a coffee shop, you know,

overhearing a conversation.

If you're open and if you're paying

attention

Mhm.

And I would even go further to say and

if you invite it, it might work even

better. I don't know if that's true, but

why not? And because of the subtle

nature of the information that we're

looking for, it's not getting shouted at

us. It's the thing that if you weren't

really quiet and really paying

attention, you would likely miss. So, we

have to quiet ourselves. And we have to

live in this constant state of looking

for clues, looking for information. What

can I learn? What shapes align? Where

are their connections?

If I look deeper, what's happening?

That's the practice. And there are some

suggestions of things that you can do to

get there. For me, meditation is the

key. It may not be everyone's. That's

the other point of this is we all

function in different ways. We each have

to find what works for us and um and try

things and see what works.

There's certain choices we make in life

that most people wouldn't view as being

creative decisions, as well as people we

meet that we wouldn't necessarily

consider artists. But Rick has the

intriguing view of simple everyday tasks

being creative choices with these

choices contributing to a bigger

universal picture devised by artists.

All of us make creative choices every

day of our lives. We've driven the same

route every day and we decide to take

the scenic route. That's a creative

choice. If we're paying attention and if

you happen to notice something that day

on the scenic route that you didn't

notice before and that ends up helping

you in the thing that you're working on,

maybe it's a coincidence, but when you

come to expect it to happen, it happens

all the time. Be prepared to be aruck

and surprised on a regular basis by

things that you would never imagine

happening. Also, you feel like you're

part of this bigger thing. We think of

ourselves as the conductor, but we're

not the conductor. We're an orchestra

member being conducted and we're part of

this bigger thing that's going on. And

it works like clockwork. Every one of us

plays part and we all have our part to

play. So, when someone says, "I'm not

artistic," or "I'm not good at art,"

it'd be like saying, "I'm not a good

monk." There is no such thing as not a

good monk. You're either living your

life as a monk or you're not living your

life as a monk. Monks aren't good or

bad. You're either doing a monk or

you're not doing a monk. And we all live

as artists, but we don't know it. And

there are things we can do to amplify

the artistic side of ourselves that will

make everything we do better. everything

any your your relationships,

your ability to communicate, your

ability to listen, your joy of life,

your feeling of connection, your ability

to commune with nature.

It It's like taking off blinders.The reason we're on this planet is to do

our work. Whatever that is, whatever our

part is, to play oupart in this giant

symphony. When it goes from the thing

you love to the thing you do for work,

it's an issue. We can live in a way

where we're living in an artful way,

where we're engaged and paying

attention, making each choice count, or

we can live almost like sleepwalking

through the day in service to the

audience. They have to come last. If

we're trying to make it for them, it

won't be the best thing it can get.

It'll water it down. The process of

making something for someone else

undermines it.

Many people approach art with a hidden

agenda, the desire to be accepted. But

when approval becomes the mission, the

art loses its soul. The need for

acceptance is also present in everyday

life. What's ironic is that acceptance

comes most naturally when we stop trying

to please and simply allow ourselves to

be who we are.

People like to be accepted. People want

to be accepted. And I'm suggesting in

the book that the the best way to be

accepted is to be yourself. It's not

it's not to change yourself to what

someone else thinks. First of all, you

don't really know what someone else

thinks.

And if you're not genuine to yourself,

there's there's like nothing nothing is

there. It's just a projection or a mask.

It's not true.

And there's something about

authenticity. The only way we can um

learn anything is through the reality of

seeing what's around us and learning.

There are these different points of view

around us. If we're all thinking the

same thing, it's boring. Why would we

make anything if everyone thinks the

same thing? What makes us interesting

are the differences?

And even even the imperfections, you

know, you may hear a song about someone

who's has terrible heartbreak and you

may not be experiencing terrible

heartbreak, but hearing them honestly

talk about a human experience, even one

that we're not having, can make us cry,

can make us resonate with them, can give

us a better understanding of the world.

M absolutely

and we're not all everything, you know,

we're all only us. Each of us is

ourselves.

What makes art beautiful is the unique

perspective we have on the world as

individuals.

There is no right or wrong way to see

the world. Just like there is no right

or wrong way to create art, make

decisions, or live life. We are all

expressions of the universe. And the

most important thing we can do is

express ourselves authentically.

I don't know what other people are going

to think. I can't know what other people

are going to think. But this is how I

see it. And I want to show you how I see

it. That's my purpose here on the planet

is to show you how I see it. And then I

want to see how you see it. And where do

they line up and where are they

different? And that's how we make sense

of the world. We all have a story. We

all have something to say and we can all

learn from each other and it comes from

each of our life experiences which are

different. We each have our own family

origin story. We each have our own

places that we grew up, the things that

we saw. We could go uh and do the same

thing together and then get back and

discuss what we saw and see two

completely different things. And it's

not like one of us is right and one of

us is wrong. We're just noticing

different things. There's so many data

points to take in and we each take in

the ones that speak to us.

Everything Rick is saying boils down to

one common message. Follow your inner

guide.

Don't do things just because you think

you're going to get something for it.

That's not why we do things. Do what's

interesting to you.

Follow what's interesting. Don't worry

about the outcome.

Yeah.

We don't know. We can't predict the

outcome. We can never predict the

outcome. Follow your own inner guide. It

directs us. It might not make sight not

make sense to us. Might not make sense

to anyone else. Certainly won't make

sense to anyone else. But it might not

even make sense to us. And that's okay.

Listen to yourself. Why is it telling

you this?

So many of us silence that quiet voice

inside, the one that already knows the

way. And when we ignore it, we create

struggles that were never meant to

exist. But why do we do this to

ourselves? Rick suggests that it is

because we don't realize we are in

control of our own lives. We make

decision after decision and fear of an

outcome that may not even exist. When in

reality, the life we want is waiting on

the other side of trust.

We are in control of our own lives. We

often don't realize we're in control.

And we can make different choices. And

if the things in our life are not

bringing us joy and happiness, if our

career that we've devoted all of our

lives to isn't bringing us joy, we can

change them. If we decide our

relationship is not the right

relationship, we don't have to suffer in

that relationship. We have our own power

and we can make a change and it takes

courage. Um, but it's in everyone's best

interest for us to take care of

ourselves to be in a relationship or in

a job where you're phoning it in because

you think it's your responsibility to do

the job, there's probably someone who

would do that job with passion and bring

more to it than you are. And if you feel

depressed and you can't manage the life

you're in, you can go move to another

part of the world. You could live on a

beach. There's so many options available

to us that we don't, you know, we're

stuck in our small story of who we are

and what our lives are. And it's all a

choice and we have the power to change

it. Anything in our lives that doesn't

give us joy, we can change and we can

find the version that that suits us. And

it's not only in service to us, it's

ultimately what's best for everyone.

There's a common illusion that taking

control of our lives requires us to be

someone extraordinary. The same illusion

often surrounds the act of creating art.

I think there's a mythology that the

people who make things that we love are

special people and that we think that

they're, you know, the people on Mount

Olympus and they're these magic people

who are geniuses and then there's the

rest of us and that's not the case. It's

like we're all just people. We're all

doing our best. We all are good at some

things, not good at other things. We're

humans and sometimes we find a way to

make something beautiful, but that's it.

There are no special people really.

We're all special.

Sometimes people spend their entire

lives chasing recognition, trying to

achieve something big enough to finally

feel worthy. They think that once they

hit that peak, all their problems will

disappear. This was not the case for

Rick.

My first memory of outward success came

when the first Beasty Boys album,

Licensed to Ill, was the number one

album in the country. The call came,

"How do you feel? You have the number

one album in the country." And I

remember saying, "I've never been more

unhappy in my life." And I think we

mistakenly think some kind of outward

success is going to change something in

us. And it does not. It may make life

more comfortable, but it doesn't change

who we are. Let's say you spend 20 years

of your life working towards a goal

that's going to solve everything.

And then you finally achieve what you've

been trying to do for 20 years toiling

away. I I won't have any fun in because

I'm working for 20 years to for this end

and then you get that end and nothing

changes.

That's when you get hopeless. So it's

not uncommon to see very successful

artists who were very unhappy in life

because they're working towards this the

thing that's going to make them feel

better and it does not make them feel

better. You know, we don't know what's

going to make us happy. We're trying to

fill something that maybe can't be

filled through material or uh cultural

success. It's something else. It's some

internal thing.

Many people believe that happiness comes

from external achievements. Yet, when we

look inward, we discover that true

purpose arises from within. There's also

a widespread misconception that living

that purpose is tied to career

milestones.

However, this is not the case.

Maybe your job is your job and the job

is the thing that supports you and then

the rest of your waking hours are

devoted to your purpose, whatever that

is.

I I would say if you need to have a job

to support yourself, that's great.

That's a noble thing to do. And follow

your dreams.

But I'm I'm not saying they're one

thing. They don't have to be one thing.

And don't let following your dreams

undermine your ability to support

yourself. It could do it could actually

do the opposite. If you decide, I want

to be a comedian and I'm putting all my

eggs in the comedian basket and I'm

going to be a comedian. The pressure of

having to support support yourself will

change you as a comedian, not for the

better. You you want the stability of

being able to take care of yourself in

the world to be free to do whatever your

passion is, whatever it is.

[Music]

[Music]

Do you play instruments?

Barely.

Do you know how to work a soundboard?

No. I have no technical ability and I

know nothing about music. Knowing how it

works isn't what makes it work. You

know, isn't the magic of it isn't how it

works. The magic is the magic. Coming up

with a story with the purpose of

pleasing someone else is a skill set.

It's more of a commercial endeavor than

an artistic endeavor. And the call came,

"How do you feel? You have the number

one album in the country." And I

remember saying, "I've never been more

unhappy in my life."

So, what are you being paid for?

The confidence that I have in my taste

and my ability to express what I feel

has proven helpful for artists.

[Music]

Rick Rubin is a creative genius. He's

produced a vast variety of artists

including the Beasty Boys, the Red Hot

Chili Peppers, Eminem, Adele, and even

Johnny Cash. With a track record like

his, he is arguably one of the most

influential music producers of all time.

Although known for his music production,

his recent book, The Creative Act, has

garnered huge attention. The subtitle of

the book is A Way of Being, and I can't

think of a better way to describe Rick's

creative relationship with the universe.

Here he compares the creative process of

life to riding a wave.

The universe is pushing us in a

direction and we can ride with that

energy. And like when you're surfing, if

you really try to fight the wave, it's

probably not going to work. You know, we

try to use the power of the wave where

we're almost dancing with the wave, not

against the wave. And um that's that's

the work of creativity as well. Certain

projects come together very easily and

they happen quickly and they have a

momentum to them and others are a real

fight.

Sometimes we fight that fight and other

times

we decide is there another a path of

less resistance around this? Is there a

better way in? Let's rethink or if it's

so hard

something's up. Not supposed to be so

hard again. And it's wildly

timeconuming, takes a great deal of

focus, takes patience,

but if there are no signs that

something's

working at for a long time,

that might be a time to step back, step

away.

Rick speaks of the things we make as

reflections of our being. No one will

create the same thing as someone else.

He mentions the importance of staying

true to yourself, letting your ideas

flow through you, and being sure not to

compare yourself to others in the

process.

The things we make are a reflection of

who we are in this moment.

And that's all it is. It can go on and

mean more than that, but that's not in

our control. And it's something that

cripples artists thinking, I have to

make the greatest thing ever made to

humankind. And then they basically psych

themselves out of being able to make

something good. They give into the

pressure of thinking it's more than it

is. We all imagine such different

worlds. And it's why

if we don't make the thing we want to

make,

if someone else's antenna is more tuned

to ours and they pick up the same source

material,

the thing they make, it's not going to

be the same thing we would make. No one

can do our part.

There's a great benefit in taking a

risk, making the thing that's

interesting to you, sharing it with the

world, because if you don't do it,

nobody else will. You're the only one

who can make the art that you can make.

And it's not in competition with anyone

else. There is no competition. There's

no competition who has a better picture

in their head.

It's a reflection of you. Everything

that you make is a reflection of who you

are. And how you live in the world will

impact the things that you make. And I

wish the best of luck on the journey in

making beautiful things that we can all

enjoy.

And audiences have enjoyed Reuben's work

with an immense amount of listeners

worldwide. I'm curious how he views the

audience and what kind of influence they

might have on his work.

The audience comes last in service to

the audience. The audience wants the

best thing.

They don't get the best thing while

you're trying to service them. They get

the best thing when you're servicing

yourself. when you're true to who you

are and the more you can trust yourself

as an artist.

In my case, I've been every decision

I've made from

working in a different genre than I

started in. Every time every time I do

something different or new, I'm always

told not to do it. I'm always told it's

a terrible idea. But I know it doesn't

matter what anyone else thinks. I know

what I know and my job is to share what

I know. That's all I can do. I can't

second guessess myself. Steve Jobs said,

you know, famously, "The consumer

doesn't know what they want

until you make it."

Yeah.

Despite his success, Rick has suffered

from depression over the years. He got

to a point in his 30s when it seemed

like all hope was lost. Although what

appeared to be a closed door led to an

awakening experience in Malibu.

I've suffered with depression at

different times in my life. The mystical

piece was in the throws of the

depression. One of the things that would

help me, I would drive to Malibu and we

had a little house, a tiny little shack

on the beach and that I was renting and

I would sit in that house and usually I

would get some some of the heaviness

would lift.

So one day I went to Malibu, nothing. I

listened to classical music, relaxed,

meditate, meditated for hours, did all

the things that would like help get me

out. And nothing got me out. And I was

devastated. And in that moment of

hopelessness, I prayed, "Universe,

please give me a sign. Please give me a

sign to go on

because I don't think I can go on.

please give me a sign.

And I walked out to the beach, which was

something I never did or rarely did. I

walked out to the beach and I'm standing

out on the beach and in

one minute

the entire sky turned into the most

dramatic

orange

wild biblical painting.

I have never seen anything like it up

until that moment. Never seen anything

like it since. I walk out. I experience

that

it blows my mind.

I feel like my answer is I I'm I'm I'm

being spoken to.

Uh-huh.

And then within a minute gone back to

normal blue sky. I felt less alone. I

felt like I could um my cry for help was

heard and I felt connected

and that felt really good.

Taking from his mystical experience,

Rick mentions that the answers to our

problems don't all come from inside of

us if we remain conscious, we can find

solutions by simply being open to the

influence of the outside world.

It's helpful to know the information we

need doesn't all come from inside of us.

Maybe none of it comes from inside of

us. Maybe it all comes from outside of

us. And whether that be mystical,

physical, or practical, I've had

experiences where I'm looking for an

answer for something, curious, holding

it lightly in my consciousness, not

working on it, just I know there's this

problem to be solved, and then I'll be

out and will happen in the world

directly related to answer the question.

Doesn't happen

once in a while. It happens all the

time. If you're open to the

communication,

we're getting information all the time.

There's so much more information coming

at us than we can digest that we pick

and choose unconsciously

certain data points and then based on

those data points we make up story about

what happens.

It's different for everybody.

There's so much uh wisdom

all around us all of the time coming in

the form of nature, the culture, people

speaking at a coffee shop, you know,

overhearing a conversation.

If you're open and if you're paying

attention

Mhm.

And I would even go further to say and

if you invite it, it might work even

better. I don't know if that's true, but

why not? And because of the subtle

nature of the information that we're

looking for, it's not getting shouted at

us. It's the thing that if you weren't

really quiet and really paying

attention, you would likely miss. So, we

have to quiet ourselves. And we have to

live in this constant state of looking

for clues, looking for information. What

can I learn? What shapes align? Where

are their connections?

If I look deeper, what's happening?

That's the practice. And there are some

suggestions of things that you can do to

get there. For me, meditation is the

key. It may not be everyone's. That's

the other point of this is we all

function in different ways. We each have

to find what works for us and um and try

things and see what works.

There's certain choices we make in life

that most people wouldn't view as being

creative decisions, as well as people we

meet that we wouldn't necessarily

consider artists. But Rick has the

intriguing view of simple everyday tasks

being creative choices with these

choices contributing to a bigger

universal picture devised by artists.

All of us make creative choices every

day of our lives. We've driven the same

route every day and we decide to take

the scenic route. That's a creative

choice. If we're paying attention and if

you happen to notice something that day

on the scenic route that you didn't

notice before and that ends up helping

you in the thing that you're working on,

maybe it's a coincidence, but when you

come to expect it to happen, it happens

all the time. Be prepared to be aruck

and surprised on a regular basis by

things that you would never imagine

happening. Also, you feel like you're

part of this bigger thing. We think of

ourselves as the conductor, but we're

not the conductor. We're an orchestra

member being conducted and we're part of

this bigger thing that's going on. And

it works like clockwork. Every one of us

plays part and we all have our part to

play. So, when someone says, "I'm not

artistic," or "I'm not good at art,"

it'd be like saying, "I'm not a good

monk." There is no such thing as not a

good monk. You're either living your

life as a monk or you're not living your

life as a monk. Monks aren't good or

bad. You're either doing a monk or

you're not doing a monk. And we all live

as artists, but we don't know it. And

there are things we can do to amplify

the artistic side of ourselves that will

make everything we do better. everything

any your your relationships,

your ability to communicate, your

ability to listen, your joy of life,

your feeling of connection, your ability

to commune with nature.

It It's like taking off blinders.